Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom: The Water Temple - All Puzzle Solutions, Boss Strategy 1
Image: Nintendo Life

The Water Temple in Tears of the Kingdom is quite the opposite of being an underwater palace, as you may have imagined. This sky-high temple is the source of all of the water for the Zora — but right now, it's also the source of the sludge.

You'll come here during the Sidon of the Zora Main Quest, and after completing The Sludge-Covered Statue, The Broken Slate, Restoring the Zora Armor, and Clues to the Sky. If this is your third Temple — as we suggest in our Regional Phenomena guide — then you know the drill. Or if you're a Zelda veteran, then you probably have a good idea of what to do here. If not, we're here to help.

Quick warning — some of the below images may contain minor spoilers for you if the Water Temple is your first dungeon. We tackled this one second, so you might spot things you haven't yet seen.

All ready? Here's how to make a splash in the Water Temple — that is, how to beat it and how to turn all of the faucets on.

Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom: Water Temple Walkthrough

Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom: The Water Temple - All Puzzle Solutions, Boss Strategy 2
Image: Nintendo Life

The Great Wellspring of Hyrule is anything but a Wellspring right now. The sludge is coming from here, and you need to clean it up.

Like with the Zora's Domain and the Clues to the Sky quests, water items are required to progress — or, at the very least, you'll need to use Sidon's abilities here. Splash fruit and blue Chuchu Jelly are both good, but if you have King's Scales, those are also great. Remember that low gravity is also in effect here, meaning you can jump further forward — but you can also backflip a lot further backwards. We're definitely not speaking from experience here...

When you enter, walk up to the Zonai terminal in front of the large mud pool to pour water onto it. However, only one source of water is remaining, with the other four faucets not responding. You need to turn those taps on, then.

Dungeon Map

After the huge Fire Temple, the Water Temple feels a lot more manageable. And as much as some water-based dungeons get a bad rap, this one is relatively simple.

We've numbered the faucets on each map in the order we completed them in. However, you can complete each of them in any order you want. Plus we've zoomed in a bit on B1 since it's such a small floor.

1F

Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom: The Water Temple - All Puzzle Solutions, Boss Strategy 3
Image: Nintendo Life

B1

Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom: The Water Temple - All Puzzle Solutions, Boss Strategy 4
Image: Nintendo Life

Turn on the four faucets

How to turn on the Water Temple faucets

Before we begin, if you're just wondering how to turn on the taps in the Water Temple, it's simple: Press 'A' beside Sidon to activate his water ability, and then swing your weapon at the faucet.

Now, let's look at how to find each of the faucets:

Faucet 1

For our first faucet, we're going to go beneath the Water Temple. To do that, run to the west of the central floor and look over the edge to spot a ramp going down into the base of the temple. Jump down and you'll be in front of a fire-covered door on B1.

To get through the flames, either use Ultrahand to grab one of the Hover Stone Zonai devices on the other side of the flames. Drop it on your side, hit it, then move it up so it's covering the flames. Let go and it'll stay in place. Or you could take the easier route and use Sidon's ability to cover yourself in a shield of water, allowing you to pass through the flames easily.

Once on the other side, deactivate a Hover Stone and place it on the switch to the right of the door to let Sidon come in. Walk further into the room to seed a lower area with a spike-covered floor, multiple hover stones, and a ball at the end. You want that ball. Drop down, and grab the unactivated Hover Stone. Hit it to turn it on, and move it to the middle of the spiked area. With the lower gravity, you should be able to make the jump.

Above you, to the right, you'll spot a chest with a Large Zonaite in it. Shoot it down with an arrow to claim the prize. Then with Ultrahand, grab the ball and stick it to the Hover Stone you're on. Jump back to the previous platform and grab the entire Hover Stone with the ball on it and bring it over.

When you can, move the Hover Stone with the ball on it above you, so it's close to the upper level (where you entered B1. Use Ascend to travel up to one of the Hover Stones that were already in place, and then continue to move the ball platform until it's on the upper ledge. Jump over to the top level.

With the ball in the centre of the Hover Stone, take it over to the ball-shaped switch on the left-hand wall, rotate it, and then press it in so the Hover Stone holds it in place. This opens up the room to the first switch. Use Sidon's water ability to get the wheel spinning and open the first faucet.

Faucet 2

All of the other faucet switches are on 1F, so back up to the centre we go. From there, go west and follow the broken bridge over to the west island. Fight the Constructs there (which can be a little tough), and then head to the north end of the island. Use Ultrahand to grab the ball out of the water on the way.

The bubble dispenser is covered in muck, so clean it off with either splash fruit or Sidon. Pop the ball into the first bubble that comes out, and let it float over to the upper island. Follow it in the next bubble. Let the ball fall out of the bubble and into the water.

When you've landed, grab one of the Hover Stones to the north with Ultrahand and bring it over to a white gate which is submerged in water. Stick the activated Hover Stone to the top of the white stone, and then move the whole thing up with Ultrahand. The stone will hold the gate in place and allow the water to drain. The ball should naturally fall into the hole and open up the door to the second switch. Hit it with Sidon's water to open the second tap.

Faucet 3

Return to the middle of the temple again, but this time head to the northeast. You'll spot a waterfall hole covered in sludge. Fire a splash fruit arrow at it to reveal the waterfall. Glide towards it and swim up it (assuming you still have your Zora Armour on).

Land on one of the broken platforms and you'll see some bubbles floating down from the sky. When it touches the platform, use Recall and hop inside of it to ride it back up. Hop over to the island opposite.

Head to the right and you'll notice a water wheel with very short paddles. Near that is a chest covered in mud with five arrows. Head over to it, look down, and grab the two white stone slates out of the water. Stick each one on opposite sides of the wheel and make sure to move one into the water, forcing the wheel to spin and generate electricity.

Follow the current and you'll notice the circuit is broken. Behind that, there's a bubble dispenser. Grab one with Ultrahand and move it into the gap to allow it to conduct electricity, complete the circuit, and open the gate to the next switch. Use Sidon's water attack and you'll now have the third faucet flowing.

Faucet 4

The last switch is on the upper island to the south. To get there, run slightly south and then glide down to the lower platform. Defeat the Fire Like and use Ascend to get up to the top level. Take out the Constructs so you don't need to worry about them disturbing you.

To the south, you'll spot a spinning block high up a tower. You need to hit a switch in there, but it's covered in sludge and it's moving very fast. Use the Hover Stone devices and Ascend to get up high enough to make your aim even easier. Then, manipulating the low gravity, jump and get your bow out to do a slow-motion shot with a splash fruit attached. Do the same thing again, but without the water. If you hit the switch, the water from the pool will drain.

Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom: The Water Temple - All Puzzle Solutions, Boss Strategy 18
Image: Nintendo Life

In the drained pool, there's a chest containing an Opal. But, more importantly, you can head inside the room and activate the final faucet. With all four faucets now turned on, you can head back to the beginning and touch the Zonai terminal to let the water flow into the pile of sludge. Your next boss battle awaits.

How to beat the Water Temple Boss

You've turned on the waterworks and unleashed the evil of this temple — now you need to take on this rather messy foe.

If you want to be prepared, bring lots of water-elemental items and get ready to either throw or shoot them at the boss. For an in-depth strategy on how to get rid of this mess, we've got a guide on how to defeat the Water Temple boss.


Is it all plain sailing from here? You might only have one region left to tackle, or perhaps you have the entire world left ahead of you. Wherever you are, you can check out our Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom walkthrough for more hints, tips, and maps.